Sabtu, 27 Desember 2008

Old Trafford

Old Trafford for a Match or Event

Old Trafford, Manchester

These pages are designed by a bunch of football fans - some of whom live in Manchester and others who visit the city on a regular basis - to help you get the max out of your next visit to Old Trafford, Manchester.

We explain the best ways to get tickets to see matches and main-events at Old Trafford, plus the best hotel deals available near Old Trafford (and where to book them on-line), as well as the best restaurants near Old Trafford and city centre Manchester, depending on which type of food or cuisine you fancy.

We also cover a short list of 'MUST-DO' things for you to consider whilst you are in the Old Trafford/Manchester area.

Also included is travel advice to and from Old Trafford, Manchester by tram, bus, train and car (with car parking advice) as well as comprehensive maps of Old Trafford.

You can also find a schedule of all up-and-coming events at Old Trafford over the coming months on these pages.

And finally, if you're having problems getting tickets to Manchester United games, click Manchester United tickets for best advice from a bunch of experienced fans who sometimes have exactly the same problem...

tragedi Munich

Sharing tentang tragedi Munich

Tragedi Munich United memulai musim 57-58 dengan ambisi besar utk mearaih gelar juara divisi I dua musim berturut-turut, kini mereka memandang target lebih besar, menjuarai piala Champion. Squad yang sangat berkualitas pada saat itu diyakini bakal menjuarai pentas Eropa, tak hanya jago kandang.

Sayang tragedi pahit menghujam mereka, malapetaka yang terjadi setelah pertandingan melawan Red Star Belgrade diperempat final liga Champion. Sehari setelah pertandigan squad MU pulang dengan menumpang terbang milik British Europan Airways ( BEA ), untuk sampai ke Inggris pesawat perlu mengisi bahan bakar terlebih dahulu, maka dipilihlah bandara Riem di Munchen, Jerman...Pengisian bahan bakar berlangsung mulus.

Pesawat bernama Elizabethan itu sempat gagal take off sebanyak dua kali sebelum mengudara. Sepertinya semua akan berjalan lancar dan baik2 saja. Namun tak lama setelah mengudara tiba2 pesawat terguncang hebat dan salah satu mesin mati! Parapenumpang langsung panik " kita akan mati " teriak Johnny Berry, seorang anggota tim.

Pilot mencoba utk mengendalikan pesawat, namun sia-sia. Pesawat meluncur deras menhujam bumi. " Ya Tuhan kami tidak mampu mengatasinya " seru Kenneth Rayment ( co-pilot ). Pesawat mencium bumi, menghantam jalan dan berhenti setelah menabrak sebuah rumah dan truk berisi ban. Percikan api langsung menyulut bahan bakar yang baru saja terisi itu. Bola api raksasa terbentuk ...sangat mengerikan....

Sebelum pesawat meledak, Harry Gregg - Kiper United tampil sebagai pahlawan. Setelah berhasil keluar dengan menendang jendela Gregg kembali masuk kedalam utk menyelamatkan teman2nya. Sosol pertama yang ditemukan adalah Bert Whalley, salah satu staff pelatih Setan Merah, terbujur kaku dan telah menghembuskan nafasnya.

Tanpa mempedulikan bahaya yang setiap saat dapat merenggut jiwanya, Gregg terun mencoba menemukan korban2 lain, tubuh Bobby Charlton dan Dennis Viollet tergeletak tidak jauh dari mayat Whalley, masih bernafas, dengan sekuat tenaga ditariknya tali pinggang keduanya.

Saat itulah terdengan teriakan dari arah depan.."Lari tolol!! pesawat ini akan segera meledak" ternyata itu adalah suara James Thain sang pilot yang ternyata selamat dari maut. Meski berteriak demikian, pilot tsb masih coba menyelamatkan Rayment yang terjepit diruang kemudi.

" Aku mencoba utk menemukan temanku, Blanchy ( Jackie Blanchflower ) ternyata dia masih hidup, namun kondisinya sangat parah, lengan nya nyaris putus, disebelahnya tergeletak kapten Tim Roger Byrne sudah tak bernyawa. " tutur Gregg. Beberapa saat setelah kejadian itu aku berteriak minta tolong, saat itulah Charlton dan Viollet tiba2 berdiri disampingku.Matt Busby aku temukan terbaring diluar pesawat dengan kaki terluka parah.

Hari itu tanggal 6 Februari 1958 dicatat dalam sejarah sepakbola MU & Inggris sebagai lembaran hitam yang menyebabkan terenggutnya 8 nyawa pemain dan staff setan merah. Tim hebat dengan cita2 besar itupun hancur berantakan.

Belum kering air mata, jajaran petinggi MU harus menghadapai kenyataan bahwa klub harus tetap berlaga. FA hanya memberikan waktu kurang dari dua bulan bagi MU utk membentuk tim baru. Karena Busby cedera parah maka ia digantikan Jimmy Murphy, asistennya. Murpy lolos dari kecelakaan itu karena ia tidak ikut ke Belgrade, ia ditugaskan negaranya utk memimpin timnas Wales lawan Israel.

Hanya dua pemain yang berada dalam kondisi prima. Murphy bergerak cepat sejumlah pemain direkrut, bahkan ia berencana utk memboyong Ferenc Puskas dari Madrid, sayang batasan gaji di Liga Inggris saat itu (17 Pounds)
per minggu, sangat jauh dibawah gaji Puskas yang 800 Pounds per minggu.

Partai perdana setelah tragedi adalah menjamu Sheffield Wednesday di putaran ke 5 piala FA tanggal 19 Feb 1958. Karena belum berhasil mengumpulkan pemain, Murphy tak bisa mengisi formulir susunan pemain kepada panitia, bahkan Stanley Crowther baru bergabung empat jam sebelum partai dimulai...

Krisis tersebut mengundang simpati, stadion Old Trafford yang dipadati 59.848 penonton, hampir semuanya menangis sambil menyebut2 nama2 pemain yang tewas di Muenchen. Suasana haru bgitu terasa........

Kondisi ini membuat semangat para pemain MU terbakar, apalagi Harry Gregg & Bill Foulkes, dua pemain yang selamat dari tragendi itu. Meski Wednesday adalah tim yang tangguh pada saat itu, akhirnya MU berhasil menekuk mereka dengan skor telak 3-0. Setan Merah baru telah lahir

GEORGE BEST

GEORGE BEST:

"DON'T DIE LIKE ME"

(1946-2005)

(Before the bottle)

I suppose the footballer most admired and talked about in the last forty years must be the Belfast born winger, George Best.

I must admit to never seeing him play on the pitch but like many others, I read about his exaggerated lifestyle as reported through the popular press off the pitch.

Footballers in the last decade or so have become the new role models to many youngsters. And this I suggest is a great shame.

Young minds can be influenced so easily. And sport is but one way to entice them. And few sportsmen and women are ideal role models.

George's insatiable appetite for alcohol was certainly one of his popular distinguishing traits. And how many young men I suspect tasted their first lager by toasting their favourite footballer after scoring the winning goal?

Too often this liquid gesture swallowed in a minute will become a curse to be carried for a lifetime.

Of George Best's religious beliefs I know nothing, except for a sister, who it is claimed, witnessed to him frequently. If so, it must have been very disappointing for her as he continued on his path to destruction. But we all have choices. We all must choose.

This ministry does a lot of street work. Naturally we encounter many alcoholics, some far down the path to oblivion. Sadly many just getting the taste for the booze.

Alcohol, I suggest, affects young women by a higher percentage with the 'feel good factor'; for men the danger level is only slightly higher. But the girls are catching up, and quickly!

This year in Kent we witnessed to a couple of teenage boys, at the time both drinking from bottles of lager. After explaining the effect it will have on their bodies and their lives, one boy, without prompting, poured his bottle of lager into a ditch. Praise the Lord for this young man's courage and honesty.

Today we talk to many young people about the perils of alcohol and all other forms of self-abuse. Government figures support us in this concern. Today we are at crises proportions in the NHS.

Now I always tell them about George Best's last tragic battle with the bottle. But do you remember how he bravely agreed to be photographed days before he died in a private London hospital as a major deterrent?

(During the bottle)

His last recorded words to his fans were about - no not his football highlights - but of alcohol and the damage it had inflicted on him.

George did not praise it or call for "One for the road"; he did not suggest "Have a drink on me" nor did he suggest to "Set em' up Joe." Instead, his face racked with pain and imminent death, he begged anyone who would listen, NOT to copy his personal lifestyle.

His petition was simple, but a stark warning to all who dared to listen: "Don't die like ME," he begged from his deathbed.

One year on from his death, I hope many of those young people remember George's final words and lasting epitath.

I Know I do.

(After the bottle)

Friends, the Bible has the following dire warning for those that are tangled up in the sin of alcoholism:

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived....drunkards...shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:10.)

If you are involved with this sin, please repent and renounce it TODAY, then turn to Jesus, before it too finishes you off and sends you to eternal Hell!

May we offer you the following prayer to God, which can be used as a helpful guide to seek forgiveness and salvation:

"God be merciful to me, a sinner. I repent now of all my sins and turn from them, and place my trust alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for Salvation. I believe that the Blood of Jesus shed for me on the Cross atones for my sins, and I now accept and rest upon the finished work of Christ. Make me a new man/women/young person in Christ Jesus and give me purpose in my life to live for Thee and serve Thee, in Jesus Name I pray. Amen."

G. Patrick Battell,

Cristiano Ronaldo



Nama lengkap: Cristiano Messias Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Tanggal lahir: February 5, 1985
Tempat lahir: Funchal, Portugal
Kebangsaan: Portuguese
Paspor Uni Eropa: Ya
Tinggi: 184 cm
Berat: 78 kg

Klub: Manchester United FC
Position: Attacking Midfielder [C]
No. Punggung: 7
Masa Kontrak: June 2010
Klub: CD Nacional > Sporting Lisbon > (£12m) Manchester Utd

David Beckham


David Robert Joseph Beckham (lahir 2 Mei 1975 di Leytonstone, London) adalah seorang pesepakbola Inggris yang sejak 1 Juli 2007 memperkuat LA Galaxy di Major League Soccer di Amerika Serikat. Sebelumnya ia pernah bermain di Manchester United dan Real Madrid. Ia memulai karir sepak bolanya di akademi sepak bola milik Manchester United. Beckham mahir dalam umpan silang dan tendangan bebas melengkung. Istrinya adalah Victoria Beckham, mantan personil grup musik Spice Girls.

Di musim 1994/1995 David Beckham masuk ke skuad senior David Beckham, hal ini mendapat banyak kecaman karena pada saat itu usia David Beckham masih sangat muda. Tapi di akhir musim, Beckham membuktikan pilihan pelatihnya Alex Ferguson tepat dengan memenangi Premiership dan FA Cup. Di bulan Agustus 1996 David Beckham mencetak gol spektakuler ke gawang Wimbledon yang pada saat itu dikawal Neil Sullivan. Ia mencetak gol dari tengah lapangan. Dia melakukan debutnya untuk tim nasional Inggris pada tanggal 1 September 1996 di pertandingan kualifikasi Piala Dunia menghadapi Moldova.

Pada Piala Dunia 1998, Beckham tidak bermain di dua pertadingan awal tetapi ia main ketika Inggris menghadapi Kolombia dan ia mencetak 1 gol di pertandingan itu. Di pertandingan melawan Argentina ia mendapat kartu merah setelah Beckham menendang Diego Simeone dengan sengaja. Pertandingan itu dimenangi Argentina melalui adu penalti. Publik Inggris menanggap kegagalan Inggris memenangkan Piala Dunia disebabkan Beckham. Bahkan penggemar Manchester United juga menyalahkan Beckham.

Pada musim 1998/1999, Manchester United berhasil meraih tiga gelar: Premiership, FA Cup, dan Liga Champions. Bahkan gelar Liga Champions diraih dengan sangat spektakuler. Di pertandingan final Liga Champions, Manchester United tertinggal 0-1 sampai menit ke-89, di saat pendukung Bayern Muenchen sudah menggelar pesta, keajaiban terjadi. Teddy Sheringham setelah berhasil memanfaatkan umpan dari tendangan penjuru Beckham. Kurang lebih 30 detik setelah kick-off, Manchester United mendapat tendangan penjuru lagi. David Beckham mengambil tendangan penjuru itu dan umpannya berhasi dimanfaatkan Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Beckham ditetapkan sebagai kapten Inggris pada tanggal 15 November 2000 dan ikut bermain di pertandingan kualifikasi Piala Dunia. Termasuk ketika mengalahkan Jerman di Muenchen. Puncak kepahlawanannya terjadi ketika menghadapi Yunani pada 6 Oktober 2001, di pertandingan terakhir kualifikasi piala dunia, Inggris setidaknya perlu meraih 1 poin untuk membuat Inggris bermain di Piala Dunia, Inggris tertinggal 2-1 dari Yunani dan waktu tinggal sedikit lagi di saat para pemain Inggris bermain buruk, Beckham menjadi inspirator. Sesaat sebelum pertandingan berakhir, Teddy Sheringham dilanggar pemain Yunani 8 yard dari kotak penalti Yunani, Inggris mendapat tendangan bebas dan Beckham mengambil tendangan bebas itu. Tendangan bebas melengkung khasnya ia berhasil memperdaya kiper Yunani, Antonis Nikopolidis. Pada tahun ini Beckham menjadi BBC Sports Personality of the Year dan menjadi peringkat dua Pemain Terbaik Dunia, hanya kalah dari Luis Figo.

Pada 10 April 2002 ia didera cedera metatarsal setelah ditekel pemain Deportivo La Coruna, Aldo Duscher. Beckham divonis tidak bisa bermain hingga akhir musim, hal ini membuat publik Inggris cemas, karena pada saat itu ia sedang berada di puncak penampilannya dan dikhawatirkan Beckham tidak dapat bermain di Piala Dunia.

Di Piala Dunia 2002, dia bermain di seluruh pertandingan. Dia juga mencetak gol ke gawang Argentina melalui tendangan penalti, sekaligus membalas dendamnya pada Argentina. Karena gol Beckham, Argentina tersingkir dari Piala Dunia 2002. Langkah Inggris terhenti di babak 8 besar setelah kalah 2-1 dari Brasil.

Pada musim 2002 hubungan Beckham dengan pelatihnya Sir Alex Ferguson memburuk setelah Ferguson marah ketika Manchester United kalah dari Arsenal. Di kamar ganti Ferguson menendang sepatu bola dan mengenai pelipis mata Beckham. Akibat insiden ini, pelipis Beckham harus mendapat 13 jahitan.Pada tanggal 12 Juni 2002 Beckham mendapat gelar OBE dari Ratu Inggris.

Di awal musim 2003/2004 dia dijual ke Real Madrid dengan harga 35 Juta Euro. Di sana ia memakai kaus nomor 23. Di Real Madrid Beckham dengan cepat menjadi idola para penggemar Real Madrid. Di Euro 2004 dia bermain di semua pertandingan, tapi dia selalu tampil mengecewakan dan ia gagal mengeksekusi penalti sebanyak 2 kali yaitu ketika menghadapi Prancis di penyisihan grup dan di babak 8 besar ketika menghadapi Portugal pada saat adu penalti.

Pada musim kedua dan ketiga, Beckham belum bisa memberi gelar ke Real Madrid, tapi ia masih menjadi pilihan utama. Dia juga membantu Inggris untuk menjadi tuan rumah Olimpiade 2012. Di musim keempatnya di Real Madrid Beckham mulai tersingkir akibat kedatangan pelatih Fabio Capello yang lebih suka menurunkan Jose Antonio Reyes daripada Beckham.

Pada 11 Januari 2007, Beckham menyetujui kontrak lima tahun yang ditawarkan klub Amerika Serikat LA Galaxy dan akan bergabung pada Agustus setelah kontraknya di Madrid berakhir. Karena kesabaran dan kemauannya yang selalu berusaha menampilkan yang terbaik, dia kembali dipasang sebagai starter setelah sempat “dibuang” oleh Capello. Bahkan pelatih Steve Mcleren kembali memanggilnya untuk bergabung ke dalam skuad tim nasional. Berkat permainan yang cemerlang di akhir musim, Beckham berhasil membawa Real Madrid menjadi juara La Liga 2006/2007.

Di Piala dunia 2006, Inggris membawa banyak pemain muda potensial. Di babak penyisihan, grup Inggris menang 1-0 atas Paraguay, kemudian menang 2-0 atas Trinidad dan Tobago melalui gol Peter Crouch yang memanfaatkan umpan Beckham dan memberi umpan lain untuk Steven Gerrard, serta bermain imbang 2-2 dengan Swedia. Di babak 16 besar lagi-lagi dia menjadi pahlawan setelah ia menjadi satu-satunya yang menghasilkan gol di pertandingan melawan Ekuador melalui tendangan bebas. Sesaat sebelum pertandingan, Beckham sakit dan setelah mencetak gol dia mengalami dehidrasi dan muntah di pinggir lapangan. Inggris lagi-lagi kalah dari Portugal melalui adu penalti 3-1 setelah dalam waktu normal bermain seri 0-0. Sehari setelah tersingkir Beckham menyatakan pensiun dari jabatan kapten timnas Inggris, tapi masih ingin mermain untuk timnas Inggris. Pergantian pelatih ke Steve McClaren rupanya membuat Beckham tidak dipanggil ke timnas hingga bulan Mei 2007.

the profile

Manchester united

Club Details:

Full name: Manchester United Football Club
Previous Name: Newton Heath LYR FC
Nickname(s): Red Devils

Ground / Stadium:

Old Trafford, Manchester, England.
Capacity: 76,212

Founded:

1878 - as Newton Heath LYR FC

Notable Staff:

Chairman: Joel & Auram Glazer
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

English Premiership Champions:

1907-08, 1910-11, 1951-52, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08.

FA Cup Winners:

1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004

League Cup Winners:

1992, 2006

European Cup Winners:

1968, 1999, 2008

Other Club Honours:

European Cup Winners' Cup Winners: 1991
Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship: 1999
European Super Cup: 1991
FA Charity/Community Shield: 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007 (* joint holders)

About Manchester United:

Manchester United were founded in 1878 as Newton Heath, the works team for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway workers in the local area. It was in 1902 following a brush with insolvency that the club changed hands and became Manchester United Football Club.

It was under manager Matt Busby during the 1950s that Manchester United really came to the fore though as Scotsman Busby built a side based on players he had groomed through United's youth structure and fashioned a great side which became known as the "Busby Babes" due their precocious talents at young ages.

Tragedy was to befall the club and the Busby Babes before they truly reached their peak though as the players and staff were involved in a plane crash at Munich in 1958 resulting in eight players and fifteen other passengers losing their lives and many others seriously injured including talismanic manager Matt Busby.

The club recovered slowly under Busby's return following his recuperation and in the early 1960s began to piece together a side including players like Bobby Charlton (a survivor of the Munich crash), Denis Law (a Scottish goal machine striker) and the mercurial Northern Irishman George Best.

An FA Cup win in 1963 was followed by English league title wins in 1965 and 1967 and was capped off by winning the European Cup in 1968 at Wembley, with Manchester United becoming the first English club to get their hands on Europe's premier club trophy.

The side began to fall apart after this and following Busby's resignation in 1969 and several failed replacements the club found themselves relegated to the second division in 1974.

Despite several FA Cup wins over the next ten years and a quick promotion back to the First Division, United didn't find a natural successor to Busby's legend until 1986 when Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson as manager and began a new dynasty.

The impatient Manchester United board may have been close to sacking Ferguson a few times in his first few years but once he found his rhythm there was no stopping his sides with eight Premiership titles in ten years between 1993 and 2003 to show for their domestic dominance. In 1999, they also completed a treble of Premiership, FA Cup and a second European Cup win as Ferguson finally laid Matt Busby's ghost to rest.

Now owned by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer, Manchester United are arguably the world's best known sporting brand and undeniably world football's biggest club.

Current Manchester United Players

Cristiano RonaldoWayne RooneyCarlos Tevez

More Current Manchester United Players

NaniAndersonRyan Giggs

Jumat, 26 Desember 2008

Manchester United

Cantona eventually signed for United on 26 November 1992, and made his first appearance against Benfica in Lisbon, in a friendly match to mark the 50th birthday of Eusébio. He made his competitive debut as a second half substitute against Manchester City at Old Trafford, on 6 December 1992. United won 2-1, though Cantona made little impact that day.

United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. They had had problems scoring goals: Brian McClair and Mark Hughes were off form, and summer signing Dion Dublin had broken his leg early in the season. However, Cantona quickly settled into the team, not only scoring many goals but also creating chances for the other players. His first United goal came in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 19 December 1992. It was against Tottenham Hotspur on 9 January 1993, that Cantona really showed his class, scoring one and having a hand in the other goals in a 4-1 victory. However, controversy was never far away and on his return to Elland Road to play Leeds he spat at a fan and was fined £1,000 by the FA [3].

For the next two years, United went on an amazing run, winning the inaugural Premiership in 1993. By winning that title, Cantona became the only player ever to win back-to-back titles with different clubs. They retained the Premiership and with Cantona's two penalties helping them to a 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. Cantona was voted PFA Player Of The Year in 1994. However, his serious disciplinary problem had not dissipated, being sent off a record 4 times in the Premier league season.[6]

Éric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.

In the following season, Cantona became infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was being escorted from the pitch by United kit man Norman Davies, Cantona broke away and launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches.[7]

Simmons was later tried for threatening language and behaviour, and attacked the prosecution counsel after being found guilty, leaping over a bench and executing a flying kick of his own. He was sentenced to seven days in jail, but only served 24 hours of his sentence.[8] At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quotation. Referring to how journalists would constantly monitor his behaviour, Cantona said, in a slow and deliberate manner:

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in to the sea.

He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a two-week prison sentence for assault. In accordance with the Football Association's wishes, Manchester United suspended Cantona for the remaining three months of the 1994–95 season, but the suspension was later increased by the FA to a nine-month ban from world football, in conjunction with a fine of £10,000. The FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly described his attack as "a stain on our game" that brought shame on football [9]. Manchester United also fined Cantona two weeks wages [10] and he was stripped of the French captaincy; his club eventually lost the Premiership title to Blackburn.

There had been much speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester and Cantona was once again inspirational. United had sold several key players at the start of the season and replaced them with players from the club's youth team and their prospects of winning the league were not looking good. Much hype surrounded Cantona's return game, against Liverpool on 1 October 1995. In the match, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt inside 2 minutes, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs had been upended. Eight months without competitive football had inevitably taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas. Things then changed, however, with his goals helping United to recapture the league having been twelve points behind Newcastle United in January 1996. There was a spate of important 1-0 wins for United, with Cantona the goal scorer, but a 0-3 victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium decided the title. Fittingly, it was the same 1-0 scoreline, and the same scorer, in that year's FA Cup Final against Liverpool, with Cantona becoming the first foreign player to lift the FA Cup as captain. The strike of that match happened with 5 minutes remaining and was perhaps Eric Cantona's most famous goal of his career. A corner from the left side troubled Liverpool keeper David James who attempted to fist the ball out of the box. Instead, the ball was deflected down the middle to the top of the box. Cantona, who had backed away when the corner was sent, lined up and took an extremely athletic twisting volley with his right foot firing the ball through a sea of defenders into the net. The game was won. His redemption was complete after the scandals and lows of a year earlier. Cantona gave a post-match interview saying: "You know that's life. Up and down." Manchester United became the first team to win "the double" twice.

Cantona galvanised the United team to greater success with the likes of Ryan Giggs and youngsters David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville emerging under his influence. As United retained the league in the 1996-97 season, Cantona had won four league titles in five years with United (six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds United), the exception being the 1995 season which he had largely missed through suspension. At the end of an admittedly lacklustre season by his standards, which was fuelled by United's elimination at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30 which came as a surprise, and was met with great dismay by United fans. His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on Friday 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst against Coventry City at Highfield Road, in which Eric scored twice in a 2-2 draw. Cantona scored a total of 64 league goals for Manchester United, 11 in domestic cup competitions, and 5 in The Champions League.

In 2004 Cantona was quoted as saying, "I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose."

In 2006 The Sun newspaper reported Cantona as saying that Manchester United had lost their soul and that the current players were a bunch of sheep. The Old Trafford idol reckoned the days of maverick entertainers like himself and George Best were gone and feared the Red Devils were betraying their past by putting out boring, functional teams. However on the Contrary he was interviewed in the Number 7's issue of 'United Magazine' in August 2006 stating he will only come back to Manchester United as 'Number 1' (meaning not return as assistant manager or coach) and would create a team like no other and play the way he thinks football should be played.

Cantona opposed the Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United, and has stated that he will not return to the club, even as a manager, while the Glazer family is in charge. This came as a disappointment to the many United fans who voted him as their choice for United's next manager in survey over the summer of 2000.[11]

However, in July 2008 it was reported in the Sunday Express that Eric has been having second thoughts, with a close friend of Cantona revealing: “Eric does fancy the idea of helping out with the coaching at a club like Manchester United. “He has been enjoying himself appearing in and directing films and being involved in beach soccer but has always wanted to help produce a team in his style and knows that Sir Alex Ferguson would encourage him.”

Despite his vow that he would never return while the Glazers remained in control of Manchester United it appears that he has mellowed over that stance.[12]

Senin, 22 Desember 2008

Gelar juara Liga Champions Eropa 2007/2008 akhirnya menjadi milik Manchester United (MU). Skuad \'Setan Merah\' memastikan diri jadi kampiun buat kali ketiga setelah di pertandingan final di Stadion LJustify Fulluzhniki, Moskow, Rusia, Kamis (22/5) dini hari WIB, menundukkan Chelsea dengan skor 6-5 melalui adu penalti.

Adu penalti terpaksa mesti digelar setelah kedua tim membagi skor imbang 1-1 dari pertarungan 120 menit (90 menit waktu normal ditambah perpanjangan waktu 2x15 menit). Gol buat MU dicetak oleh Cristiano Ronaldo lewat sundulan kepala di menit 26. Tapi Chelsea sempat membalas lewat sontekan Frank Lampard di menit 45.

Dalam adu penalti, MU unggul 6-5 secara dramatis. Sempat kritis setelah eksekutor ketiga, Ronaldo, gagal menaklukkan kiper Chelsea, Petr Cech, MU balik unggul sesudah eksekusi ketujuh The Blues yang dilakukan Nicolas Anelka berhasil diblok kiper MU, Edwin van der Sar. Sebelumnya, algojo kelima Chelsea, John Terry, juga gagal menaklukkan van der Sar karena eksekusinya melebar akibat kaki kirinya terpeleset rumput yang basah tersiram air hujan.

Chelsea pantas menyesali nasib buruk mereka. Sebab, dalam laga final Liga Champions yang baru pertama kali mereka jalani ini mereka tampil cemerlang. Sayang, banyak peluang meleset, termasuk membentur mistar gawang. Selain itu, di menit 117 striker andalan skuad The Blues, Didier Drogba, diganjar kartu merah akibat menampar Nemanja Vidic dalam suatu keributan di lapangan.

Bagi MU, sukses ini menjadikan mereka musim ini meraih dua gelar sekaligus, yakni juara Liga Primer Inggris dan Liga Champions. Sedangkan Chelsea harus puas meraih satu gelar saja, yakni Piala Liga Inggris.

Prestasi menang di final atas Chelsea menjadikan MU selalu sukses menang saat tampil di final Liga Champions seperti tahun 1968 dan 1999. Ketika jadi juara tahun 1999 itu, MU menaklukkan Bayern Munich (Jerman), 2-1, dalam laga final yang juga sangat dramatis
Gelar juara Liga Champions Eropa 2007/2008 akhirnya menjadi milik Manchester United (MU). Skuad \'Setan Merah\' memastikan diri jadi kampiun buat kali ketiga setelah di pertandingan final di Stadion LJustify Fulluzhniki, Moskow, Rusia, Kamis (22/5) dini hari WIB, menundukkan Chelsea dengan skor 6-5 melalui adu penalti.

Adu penalti terpaksa mesti digelar setelah kedua tim membagi skor imbang 1-1 dari pertarungan 120 menit (90 menit waktu normal ditambah perpanjangan waktu 2x15 menit). Gol buat MU dicetak oleh Cristiano Ronaldo lewat sundulan kepala di menit 26. Tapi Chelsea sempat membalas lewat sontekan Frank Lampard di menit 45.

Dalam adu penalti, MU unggul 6-5 secara dramatis. Sempat kritis setelah eksekutor ketiga, Ronaldo, gagal menaklukkan kiper Chelsea, Petr Cech, MU balik unggul sesudah eksekusi ketujuh The Blues yang dilakukan Nicolas Anelka berhasil diblok kiper MU, Edwin van der Sar. Sebelumnya, algojo kelima Chelsea, John Terry, juga gagal menaklukkan van der Sar karena eksekusinya melebar akibat kaki kirinya terpeleset rumput yang basah tersiram air hujan.

Chelsea pantas menyesali nasib buruk mereka. Sebab, dalam laga final Liga Champions yang baru pertama kali mereka jalani ini mereka tampil cemerlang. Sayang, banyak peluang meleset, termasuk membentur mistar gawang. Selain itu, di menit 117 striker andalan skuad The Blues, Didier Drogba, diganjar kartu merah akibat menampar Nemanja Vidic dalam suatu keributan di lapangan.

Bagi MU, sukses ini menjadikan mereka musim ini meraih dua gelar sekaligus, yakni juara Liga Primer Inggris dan Liga Champions. Sedangkan Chelsea harus puas meraih satu gelar saja, yakni Piala Liga Inggris.

Prestasi menang di final atas Chelsea menjadikan MU selalu sukses menang saat tampil di final Liga Champions seperti tahun 1968 dan 1999. Ketika jadi juara tahun 1999 itu, MU menaklukkan Bayern Munich (Jerman), 2-1, dalam laga final yang juga sangat dramatis